Teen, Fiancee Flee to Netherlands to Avoid Extradition Back to China

KYIV, UKRAINE - A teenager, who says he is a U.S. permanent resident, and his fiancee are once again on the run from the threat of extradition to their homeland, China, in a sign of Beijing’s lengthening reach over perceived dissidents abroad.

Chinese officials had sought Wang Jingyu, a 19-year-old student, over his online comments about deadly border clashes between Chinese and Indian forces last year. He was arrested by plainclothes police in Dubai while transferring for a flight to the U.S. in early April and was held for weeks, in a case that the U.S. Department of State has described as a human rights concern. He said Chinese authorities in Dubai took his green card. Wang was freed May 27, just hours after The Associated Press asked about him. He fled first to Turkey and then to Ukraine, as a temporary safe place that was open to Chinese passport holders without COVID-19 entry restrictions.